Facial detection startup changes privacy policy after Friday launch

SceneTap's policy now states it will not store "facial mapping metrics."

SceneTap's camera is mounted just above one of the TV screens at Polo Grounds

Cyrus Farivar

SAN FRANCISCO—As the Oakland A’s were set to take on the Giants in the adjacent baseball stadium, few in the Polo Grounds bar seemed aware that another event was taking place—the launch party of the controversial social geo-location app, SceneTap.

SceneTap representatives have stressed to multiple media outlets (including Ars) that the company is not storing images. The only stored data are historical trends of male and female ratios and estimates of customer ages. The company says that once it has accumulated such data over time, it will make it available to bars as an analytical tool to evaluate bar traffic.

However, CEO Cole Harper spoke with two reporters from Ars at the launch (Cyrus Farivar and Matt Braga). Ars pointed out that not storing images was not the same as agreeing not to retain any of the facial data, and that’s what many privacy advocates were concerned about. Harper said he would consider making a change to the company’s privacy policy.

By the following day, Saturday, Ars received an e-mail alerting us to this modification: “No facial mapping metrics, measurements, or other data used to predict demographics are stored.”

After surveying a few people in the bar, patrons seemed unaware of what SceneTap did both in-bar and in-app. That was despite the young women passing out SceneTap-branded items, the large banner in the back of the bar, and a free drink offer if you showed the app to a server. In addition, there seemed to be no indication to customers of SceneTap's camera, nor how it worked.

Some bar-goers seemed unconcerned with the presence of the cameras and the related privacy issues. Rather, they seemed interested in the potential benefit to them and their peers.

“If I was a single dude living in the city, I would use it,” said Sean Silva, a local actuary.